A launch to the season of golden slanting sun and naturally tinting leaves, here is a seasonal selection of commentaries voted the best at Light Project studio — a visually warm celebration of the coming cool weather.

It’s autumn in New York, The gleaming rooftops at sundown, Oh Autumn in New York, It lifts you up when you run down. Glittering crowds and shimmering crowds, In canyons of steel, They’re making me feel – I’m home.

The renovation project includes new street alignments, landscaping, a bike path, public art, street and landscape lighting and most importantly a verdant JFK Park – in a former parking lot.

Robert Lieber (Mayor’s Office), Amanda Burden (Department of City Planning), Helen Marshall (Queen’s Borough President), Adrian Benepe (Department of Parks and Recreation), and Gail Barron (Long Island City Business Improvement District) spoke to the crowd about the work that had gone into making the project a reality. They spoke of improved lighting (three mentions) and pedestrian and traffic-friendly streets and the new landscaping.

There was huge attendance at Javits Center for a “meet and greet” with New York State agencies including NYS-DOT, MTA, PANYNJ, construction companies and professional organizations. The main objective was to get tips on M/WBE programs [ Minority and Woman -owned Business Enterprises] and DBE [Disadvantaged Business Enterprise – “small business”] programs to continue ensure qualification for infrastructure projects. Leni Schwendinger Light Projects is a registered WBE, but we wanted to learn about DBE , which will allow smoother entré into federal or state projects with federal funding. Thankfully there is a New York State Unified Certification Program which allows for one certification application , which is honored by all other DBE certifying state agencies that receive funds from the United States Department of Transportation.

The visiting agencies were very helpful with the certification forms. Additionally, we visited with MTA/LIRR and learned about the GEC (General Engineer Contracts), which is a pre-qualified list for MTA work and discussed issues of public sector projects with other W/M/D BE business owners and contractors. We spoke with the dynamic and enthusiastic Women Builders Council representatives. The Council provides advocacy, mentoring, capacity building, procurement opportunities and best practices.Organizing Agencies:
• New York State Department of Transportation – NYSDOT
• Empire State Development Corporation – ESDC
• Port Authority of New York/New Jersey – PANYNJ
• Federal Highway Administration – FHWA

Supporting Organizations:
• General Contractors Association of New York – GCA/NY
• Long Island Contractors Association, Inc – LICA
• The Associated General Contractors of New York State – AGC/NY
• General Building Contractors of New York State – GBC/NYS
• Construction Industry Council of Westchester & Hudson Valley – CIC
• New York Roadway Improvement Coalition – NYRIC
• American Council of Engineering Companies of New York – ACEC
• Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York – MTA
• US Dept of Commerce – Minority Business Development Agency
• US DOT – Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilization
• Regional Alliance for Small Contractors
• Women Builders Council, Inc
• Jamaica Business Resource Center
• Conference of Minority Transportation OfficialsPartners:
• Association of Minority Enterprises of New York
• National Hispanic Business Group
• Asian Women in Business
• Professional Women in Construction
• New York State Minority Contractors Association
• Minority Contractors Association of New York